Insulated rail-joint.



E. F..'SCHERMERHORN. '4 INSULATED RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILEDJUNE 30, 1916.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

gmanioz E. F. SCHERMERHORN.

INSULATED RAIL-JOINT.

PLICATION 0 UN! 30. I916 Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

2 SHEE SSHEET 2.

v 8 y h EDWARDS F, SCHEBMERHORN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIEGNOE TO THE BAIL JOINT COMBANY, 015 NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YQBK.

,msULa'rEDnAIL-Jomr.

soaos a.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Eowaaos Sensa- MERHORN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insulated Rail-Joints, of which the following is p a. specification.

This invention relates to rail oints, and more particularly to joints of the insulated type, and has special reference to a novel the bar and base flange of the rail, thus more evenly distributing the wear on the insulation at these points, and materially increasing the life and efliciency thereof.

More iiarticularly the present inventlon has in view a novel formation of the bearing faces of the joint bar allowing more'uniform compression of the insulation, especially of the insulation arranged at the under side of the rail head to minimize or prevent the cutting of the same.

In practice, especially on modern high rails having a large fishing. space, there is a distinct tendency, when splice bars are not carefully applied, for the splice bar to enter the fishing of the rails in'an inclined or canted position, this tendency being due to the much greater bearing surface for the foot of the splice bar on the rail than for the head thereof. This allows the head of the bar to enter more freely than the foot, with the result that if the splice bar is not carefully applied, it is canted in at the top.

and out at the bottom, and the tightening of the joint bolts merely aggravates this condition. 'In consequence of such a condition in an insulated rail joint, the head of the joint bar will have only a slight bearing on the rail head insulation adjacent to the outer edge of the rail head, and the loads imposed on the latter willv be concentrated on a. com paratively small surface of the insulation, resulting in the rapid. destruction thereof Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, thin.

Application filed June so, 1916. Serial No. 106,861

along the small bearing surface, whereas if the loads were tr'ansmitteduniformly to the entire bearing surface of the insulation underlying the rail head, the compression and wear would be distributed over a greater area, and consequently would have a less destructive effect.

Accordingly, a novel and distinctive fea ture of the present invention is to form the insulation bearing portions of the joint bar at such an angle that the bar will uniformly compress the insulation plates when the track bolts are tightened, soth'at no single point thereof is subjeeted to a greater degree of compression than another, thereby preventing rapid disintegration and destruction of the insulation, and conserving the life of the joint. With the above and other objects in View, which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of' parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated andclaimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, and although for thepurp'ose of illustration, an angle bar type of joint bar is shown, it will, ofcourse, be understood that the invention may, without departing from the spirit or scope thereof, be applied with equal facility to other types of joint bars used in insulated joints.

Accordingly, as illustrated in the drawings Figure 1 is a bi-sected cross sectional view of a rail showing the upper and lower sections of insulation in position, and a joint bar of the ordinary type as it is sometimes applied in a canted position, whereby the head and base sections of insulation are compressed unevenly along lines of contact hereafter more fully referred to. Fig. '2 is a bi-sected, crosssectional view of a rail showing the upper and lower sections'of insulation. in position, and a joint bar embodying the features of the present invention prior to its being drawn into final position by the track bolts. V Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. l, butshowing the proper relative positions of the insulation bearing surfaces of the joint bar when the track bolts are tightened. Fig. 4 is a bi-sected cross-sectional view illustrating a modification of the invention for accomplishing the same results as shown 5 in Figs. 2 and 3, the bar being in a canted position before the tightening of the joint bolts. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. l, but showing the relative position of the insulation bearing siirfaces to the joint bar when the joint bolts are tightened.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In carrying the present invention into effect, no changes are contemplated in the general organization of the parts of the rail joint to whicl; the invention may be applied, ,,noi' isit proposed to make any radical departure from the structural characteristics of such joints, as the present improvement is susceptibleof application to any type of rail joint bar having insulation bearing sur- ;.1 faces. Accordingly,: for the purposes of illustration, there is shown in the accompanying drawings, a poition of a rail section B fitted with the upper and lowerinsulation plates 1 and 2, res'pectiire'lylocated beneath the head of the rail and over the base flange thereof.

Although the insulation plates 1 and 2 are usually of highly compressed fiberp which is veryhard and tough in character, the same is relatively soft as compared with the rails and joint bars, .so that under the extreme compression produced bje-ethe wheel loads imposed on rails under trafiic, the in sulation becomes more or less compressed at all points where it is clamped between a face of the joint bar and a portion of the rail.

Ordinarily, joint bars for insulated joints have their hearing faces formed on lines which are substantially parallel with the opposing faces of the rails. However, it has been found in applying joint oars having these conventional features, that owing to the form of construction of modern rails and splice bars, and the lack of care with which the latter are frequently'applicd, the splice bar tends to enter between the upper and lower inclined bearing faces of the rail in a canted position. that is, with the head of the bar inclining inwardly from the perpendicular, and the foot of the bar inc'lined outwardly to the same degree. This disturbs the desired parallel relation between the bearing surface of the rail and the splice bar as shown in somewhat exaggerated form in Fig. 1. and produces a localized and concentrated imposition of the 00 loads on the insulation at the points I and h. which results in excessive compression of the insulation at these points and consequent rapid destruction. This condition is aggravated add the wear increased at the point P between the under side of the rail head and the upper face of the bar, by the deflection of the rail head at its uppe edges under load, thus producing a pinching action on the insulation at P, which results in cutting through the insulation at this point before the remainder of the insulation has been subjected to very much compression or wear. Accordingly, to remedy these conditions, and place the insulation under uniform compression at all points. it is proposed, by the present invention to form the head 3 of the bar 4 (Fig. 2) in such a man ner that the bearing face 6 at the top thereof is arranged at a different angle from the opposing bearing face 7 of the rail head. This angle inustbe formed in such a way as to have an outwardly divergent relation to the bearing face at the underside of the rail head prior to the tightening of the track bolts, as shown in Fig. 2. Stating this feature of the invention another way, the face ii, at the head of the joint bar. lies in a plane designated by the line A-B which is disposed at a lesser angle to the vertical axis X-Y of the bar than the angle of the inclined underside 7 of the railhead with the vertical axis of. the rail. ticular construction. the splice vided with a head whose bearing posed at a non-uniform distance from the adjacent bearing bar is proi'ace of the underside of the rail head. the inaximumdlstance between said bearing faces of the splice bar and rail By this parface is dishead being adjacent to the outer side of the latter before the joint bolts are tightenedms clearly indicated in F ig. 2.

When the track bolts are tightened, it

will, of'course, be apparent that the entire oint bar 4 is drawn inwardly toward the web of the rail, and it will be readily seen that if the joint bar has a tendency to assumc a canted position such as illustrated in the bar in Fig. 1, the head of the bar will also assume a canted position, but owing to the angle of the face 6. the insulation will be evenly compressed. However, the provision of clearance at the outer edge of the bar, by bcveling the head as shown, has the lwnclicial cll'cct of causing the upper bearing face 6 to assume its proper relation to the insulation and the under side of the rail head, thus securing the desired uniformity of bearing contact. ()n the other hand. if the joint bar should be applied in a poril'cctly pcrpcinlicular position. its head. will contact with the insulation. lirst at 1". and if the bar is tightened in this position. the result will beaninitial concentrationol' (UIII- prcssion on the insulation at 3". but as the joint bar is further tightened and loads imposed thereon, the bearing and compression will be distributed along the entire bearing surface at the bond of the joint bar, thus,

relieving the insulation from excessive coinpresslon at the point of usual greatest wear as at 3", and allowing it to resist with its full thickness, the compression producedby the outer side of the rail head under load.

. i lccordingly, when the joint bolts are tight- -ltefcrring to Figs. el and 5, which show a.

modification of the invention, it will be observed that here is shown a construction in which the joint bar a has the usual in and 2",,

thereof, the same will draw clined bearing face 8 at the upper side .of

the head thereof, and the inclination and generaldirection of this face is parallel to the underside of the rail head, while the under side 10 of the foot 9 of the bar is arranged at a greater angle to the vertical aXiS of the bar than the upper side of the rail base has to the perpendicular axis of the rail. The general. inclination of the bearing face 10 of the under side of the foot of the bar is indicated by the line G-D, and this face lies in a plane which is more nearly at right angles to the vertical axis X-Y of the joint bar and the vertical axis of the rail, than the upper face 11 of flange of the rail. That is to say, the featin-e of providing a joint bar with an inclined bearing face, which is arranged at a a greater angle to the'perpendicular.axis of the bar, than the corresponding bearing face of the rail has to the vertical axis of the rail. may be carried out, as shown in Figs. 2 or as shown in Figs. l and 5, to evenly compress the insulation at all points between the foot of the bar and the base flange of the rail and to secure uniformly distributed bearing on the insulation at both the topand bottom of thejoint bar, if the latter should be applied in a canted position.

With the construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5, it will be apparent that if the bar is originally applied. n a canted position, that is. so that the head thereof is inclined far ther toward the rail Web than the base into a substantially vertical position upon of the joint bolts, and thereby cause the usual bearing face 8 at the head of the liar to evenly compress derside of the rail head. This is due to the clearance afforded by beveling the underside 10 to the foot flange of the bar. If this bar should be applied in position originally, that is, so that the hearthe surface 11, the

the base I the tightening the insulation at the un-' a substantially vertical face 10 evenly contacts with the insulaslight out wardly inclined relation to the rail web.

whereby, upon the tightening of the joint shown in Figs. l and 5 is the reverse of the In other words, the construction construction shown in Fig. 3, whereby upon 1 a tightening of the joint bolts, both the head and base sections of insulation are placed under even compression by the bearingv faces of the joint bar.

Without further description,

the present invention will be readily apparent, and it will, of course, be understood that various changes in'the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or scopeof the appended claims. I

I claim 1. A rail joint including a rail having a bearing face disposed at an angle, and a splice bar having a bearing face disposed at a lesser angle than said bearing face of the to the vertical axis of the latter.

2. A rail joint includin a rail having a head, the underside of which is disposed at an angle, and a splice bar having a top hearing face disposed at'a lesserangle to the vertical axis of the bar than the angle of the underside of the rail head to the vertical axis of the rail.

3. An insulated rail joint including a rail having an inclined face, an insulation plate fitting said face, and a inclined bearing face outwardly diverging from said inclined face of the rail prior to .the tightening of the bolts.

4. An insulated rail joint including a rail, having an inclined face, an insulation plate fitting said face, and a splice bar having a flat inclined bearing face outwardly diverging from said inclined face of the rail prior to the tightening of the bolts.

5. An insulated rail joint including a rail, an insulation plate, and a splice bar having a. head whose hearing face is disposed at non-uniform distance from the adjacent bearing face of the underside of the rail head, the maximum distance between said bearing faces of the splice bar head and rail splice bar havingan it is thought that the many features and advantages of to the vertical axis of the bar.

rail is disposed y rod head being adjacent the outer side of thelatter prior to the tightening of the bolts.

6. An insulated rail joint -,including a rail, an insulation plate, a splice. bar ,having a head provided with atop bearing face oiftwardly diverging from the inclined face at the underside of the rail head, the maximum distance between saidbearing faces of the splice bar head and rail head being the splicebar head and 'rail head being nd- 1 adjacent the outer side of the latter prior to jac-ent the outer side of the latter prio to y the tightening of the bolts. the tightening of the bolts.

.7. An insulated rail joint including a In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my 5 rail, an insulation plate, a splice bar having signature in the presence of two witnesses.

a head provided with a flat topbearing' face I EDWARDS F. SGHERMERHORN. 1 outwardly diverging from the inclined face Witnesses:

at the underside of the rail head, the maxi- E. K. KEusn-Nnn.

mum distance between said bearing faces of C. A. DISBROW 

